Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Species Metarranthis duaria - Ruddy Metarranthis - Hodges#6822

Metarranthis duaria Resting moth - Metarranthis duaria Metarranthis duaria Pennsylvania Moth - Metarranthis duaria - female Metarranthis duaria  - Metarranthis duaria - male Orange moth with two dots - Metarranthis duaria - male Geometroidea - Metarranthis duaria - male Metarranthis duaria ? - Metarranthis duaria - female
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Geometroidea (Geometrid and Swallowtail Moths)
Family Geometridae (Geometrid Moths)
Subfamily Ennominae
Tribe Anagogini
Genus Metarranthis
Species duaria (Ruddy Metarranthis - Hodges#6822)
Hodges Number
6822
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
subspecies M. d. hamaria listed as a full species (M. hamaria) on some web sites
Size
wingspan 35-40 mm
Identification
Adult: forewing angular, pointed, variably reddish to yellowish-gray with black speckling; AM and PM lines diffuse, blackish, and broken where they cross veins; PM line sinuate or bent, resembling a series of half-circles, often bordered proximally by diffuse reddish-brown shading; black discal spot prominent; large dark blotch often present in subterminal area; apical dash usually present; outer margin often slightly falcate near apex
hindwing similarly colored, with somewhat irregular outer margin

Larva: stout and mottled brown, reminiscent of a cutworm (Noctuidae) rather than the typical geometrid body-plan of mimicking twigs
[text from U. of Alberta]
Genitalia:
Range
Newfoundland to South Carolina, west to Mississippi, northwest to Washington and British Columbia
Habitat
deciduous and mixed woods and shrublands
larvae hide on the ground beneath leaf litter or in tree holes during the day, and feed at night
Season
adults fly from late April to early July; most common in May and June
Food
larvae feed on leaves of alder, aspen, basswood, birch, blueberry, cherry, hawthorn, meadowsweet, mock-orange (Philadelphus spp.), oceanspray (Holodiscus spp.), rose, serviceberry, smartweed (Polygonum spp.), willow
Life Cycle
one generation per year
See Also
Metarranthis angularia is very similar but has a slightly more angular PM line, its wing margins are less angular, and its speckling and spots are lighter/more brown rather than black
Warner's Metarranthis has a relatively straight PM line with solid dark shading on the proximal side
Internet References
pinned adult image plus habitat, seasonality, description, biology, food plants, distribution (G.G. Anweiler, U. of Alberta)
pinned adult images compared with similar species (Moth Photographers Group)
adult images (Larry Line, Maryland)
food plants; PDF doc plus flight season and life cycle (Macrolepidoptera of Mont Saint-Hilaire Region, McGill U., Quebec)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (CBIF)